Magazine of a portable stapling apparatus



Sept. 30, 1969 VOLKMANN 3,469,758

MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE S'I'APLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 23. 1966 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 0/5727? VOA hMAA/A ATTORNEYS Sept. 30, 1969VOLKMANN 3,469,758

MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE STAPLING APPARATUS Filed D80. 23. 1966 3Sheets-Sheet f? Sept. 30, 1969 D. VOLKMANN 3 5 MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLESTAPLING APPARATUS I Filed Dec. 23. 1966 v 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

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3,469,758 MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE STAPLING APPARATUS Dieter Volkmann,Leinstrasse 49, Neustadt am Rubenberge, Germany Filed Dec. 23, 1966,Ser. No. 604,305 Int. Cl. 1325c 5/02, 5/06; B27f 7/08 U.S. Cl. 227-120 5Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In what follows there will bedescribed, for greater clarity, only apparatus of this kind in the formof a stapler, although within the scope of the invention the tool can befor driving nails, pins, cramps or other fastener means.

The customary kinds of magazine of this sort are closed, after theintroduction of the stick of staples, by a cover which is slidablyguided in longitudinal grooves in the side walls of the magazine. Thestick of staples is usually supported by a staple guide on which ismounted a follower urged by a spring, the follower pushing the stick ofstaples forwards towards the discharge channel situated in the frontpart of the apparatus. When the staples have been all used, the magazineis opened and the follower is pulled back as far as a limitingmechanical stop, whereby the spring is tensioned. After the new stick ofstaples has been inserted, the follower is unlocked from the catch andallowed to move forward. The cover is then closed.

Thus, the loading operation involves several manipulations during whichthe tool must be grasped alternately by the right and by the left hand.The charging operation is therefor time-consuming and this isundesirable, particularly in the case of compressed air driven equipmentand considerably reduces the otherwise high operating efficiency of thisequipment.

In order to simplify the charging operation it is known to make thefollower larger or smaller in cross-section than the stick of staples,and to equip the follower with laterally resilient pusher arms capableof moving over or under the side surfaces of the stick of staples. Thestick is introduced from behind into the magazine, and then the followeris pulled over the stick into its working position, and during thismovement the resilient pusher arms slide over the side surfaces of thestick and come to rest up against the rearmost staple. However, theprocess of charging the magazine from its rear end is a comparativelyinconvenient manipulation in the case of compressed air driven staplers,because the tube for supplying the compressed air is usually attached tothe rear end of the apparatus and interferes with access to the toolhere. For compressed air driven tools of this kind it would be best tocharge the magazine from above, but this would require not only adrawing back of the follower in order to tension its spring and to giveaccess to the charging chamber, but also an opening of the magazinecover.

One object of the invention is to make it possible in a stapler whosefollower ha laterally resilient pusher arms capable of sliding over thestick of staples, to load the magazine from above, for the purpose ofgreatly simplifyd States Patent ing the loading process even in the caseof compressed air driven tools, and to minimize the time required forthis operation. The invention is based on a known kind of rear loadedstapler whose follower, which is equipped with laterally resilientpusher arms, has attached a spring ribbon providing forward thrust andis anchored near the ejector channel for the staples.

In a tool of this kind the magazine housing is, according to theinvention, permanently open at the top, and the stick of staples, whichis introduced into the magazine from above, is covered over by thespring ribbon which engages with the follower. By use of the inventionthe stick of staples is always sheltered from above, and prevented fromfalling out of the magazine, by the coverage efiected by the springribbon, in spite of the fact that the magazine is open at the top, andeven if the tool is used upside down, for example when driving a stapleinto a workpiece from underneath. As the part of the magazine housingbehind the follower is open at the top, a new stick of staples can beintroduced into the magazine without it being necessary previously toopen a lid, or to engage in any other manipulation, and this can be donewithout difficulty even during operation of the tool.

The spring ribbon attached to the follower preferably has a greaterwidth than the stick of staples. In orde to ensure that the spring,which can for example be spring steel and attached to the follower, isalways at the same height above the upper surface of the stick ofstaples in the magazine, irrespective of how much of its length has beencoiled on to its coiling reel, it is advisable to mount on the body ofthe tool below the coiling reel a guide roller. With the help of thisguid roller the changes in the diameter of the coil of ribbon on thereel during the coiling process have no influence on the height of thespring above the stick of staples in the magazine.

On the other hand, the coiling reel for the steel spring can if desiredbe mounted on the follower, in which case the front end of the steelspring is attached to a part of the body of the tool preferably adjacentthe discharge opening.

The invention is of particular importance in relation to a compressedair driven hand tool for driving staples, because the air hose for thesupply of compressed air, which is attached to the rear end of the tool,does not interfere with the loading process.

The drawings show by way of example, two embodiments of the invention inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side view, partly sectioned, of the magazine of acompressed air operated tool for driving staples; in this figure thetool is shown ready for operation,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the magazine, with the follower in itsforward position,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the magazine with the follower retracted;this figure also shows the stick of staples and shows the tool ready foroperation,

FIGURE 4 is a side view, partly sectioned, of another embodiment of thetool according to the invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, there is an ejector channel 1in the front end of the body 2 of the tool, which can for example be acompressed air operated stapler. The front wall of the ejector channel 1is formed by a closure piece 3 arranged so that it can be pivoted upforwards in the customary way for eliminating disturbances caused bystaples which have become jammed. To the body 2 of the tool there isattached a magazine housing 4 which is open at the top and encloses arail 5 serving to support and guide the staples. The magazine housing 4accommodates in the customary way a stick of staples 6, which areinserted into the magazine from above. When the tool is in theoperational position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the first staple,which is in the most forward position, is in the ejector channel 1, sothat when the driver 7 is depressed this staple is separated from thestick and driven into the workpiece.

The rail furthermore supports a follower 8 on which are mounted twoelastic pusher arms 9 adapted to bend resiliently sideways. The pusherarms 9 are adjacent to the back end of the stick of staples 6 and urgethe staples forwards against the ejector channel 1. To the upper part ofthe follower 8 there is attached a handle 10 which the operator uses todraw the follower back as far as the limiting mechanical stop 11 of themagazine. To the upper part of the follower 8 there is also attached aspring steel strip 12 which is guided over a roller 13 attached to thefront end of the magazine near the ejector channel 1, the spring steelstrip 12 being coiled spirally over a reel 14, situated diagonally abovethe roller 13. The spring steel strip 12 is prestressed in such a waythat it winds itself automatically on the reel 14 and constantly tendsto urge the follower 8 forwards, this forward pull being transmittedthrough the pusher arms 9 to the stick of the staples 6. The fact thatthe spring 12 is always guided by the stationary roller 13 has theresult that the gap between the spring and the back of the stick ofstaples 6 remains constant, so that the changing diameter of the coil ofspring on the reel 14 does not affect the position of the spring 12relative to the stack of staples.

A retainer pin 15 is mounted on the rail 5 and acts as a mechanical stopfor the rear end of the stick of staples 6. The retainer pin 15 issituated forward of the mechanical stop 11, the distance between thesetwo stops being approximately equal to the length of the follower 8together with its pusher arms 9. The rear part of the magazine housing,behind the retainer pin 15, this part of the magazine housing notserving as a storage space for the staples, is closed at the top by acover plate 16 whose width is about the same as that of the stick ofstaples 6, so that the follower 8 can slide backwards over the coverplate 16 as far as the rear stop 11.

When the tool is in operation the parts are in the positions shown inFIGURES 1 and 3, the follower 8 being under the influence of the steelspring 12 coiled on the reel 14, to the effect that the follower 8pushes the stick of staples 6 forward in the direction of the ejectorchannel 1. The stick of staples 6 is covered over along its entirelength by the spring 12, so that the staples cannot fall out of themagazine even if the tool is used upside down. Behind the follower 8 themagazine housing 4 is open at the top.

After all the staples have been used up, the follower 8 has reached theposition shown in FIGURE 2 and the two pusher arms 9 are in contact withthe rear wall of the ejector channel 1. The spring 12 is coiled on thereel 14 leaving only a short length of spring covering the small areabetween the follower 8 and the ejector channel 1. The entire length ofthe charging space of the magazine housing 4 behind the follower 8 isopen and freely available from above. A new stick of staples cantherefore now be charged into the magazine housing behind the follower 8and as far back as the retainer pin 15. When the new stick of stapleshas been charged, the follower 8 is drawn back by the operator, by meansof the handle 10, over the stick of staples 6, which abuts on theretainer pin 15, and over the cover plate 16, back as far as the rearmechanical stop 11 of the magazine. This can be done quite easilybecause the follower 8 is capable of sliding, with its resilient pusherarms 9, over the stick of staples 6 and over the cover plate 16. Thespring steel strip 12 then pushes the two resilient pusher arms 9 of thefollower 8 forwards against the last, or rearmost, staple of the newlyintroduced stick of staples, the stick of staples being covered by thespring 12 and thus prevented from falling out of the magazine housing 4.The tool is now ready for operation, without there being required anyfurther manipulations such as a sliding of a cover plate or the like.

As the spring 12 is always under tension and guided by the roller 13,which is fixed in position, the distance between the upper surface ofthe stick of staples 6 and the spring always remains the same, and inthis way the stick of staples is always securely positioned on the rail5.

The embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 differs from that described above onlyby the fact that the coiling reel for the spring 12 is mounted on thefollower 8 in the form of a roller 17, and the front end of the spring12 is anchored to the body of the tool by means of a clamping plate 18,which is attached by a screw 19 to a part 20 of the body 2 of theapparatus. Otherwise this embodiment agrees with the first version.

Although the invention is herein shown and described as applied to aportable pneumatic stapler, it is to be understood that in its broadestaspect the invention is not to be so limited except as particularly setforth in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A staple magazine structure for a stapling apparatus having a bodywith a staple ejector channel, said staple magazine structurecomprising:

an elongated housing having an open top and being adapted to receive anelongated stick of staples;

guide means in said housing for guiding movement of a sticklongitudinally within said housing;

a follower movable longitudinally along said guide means, said followerhaving resilient laterally movable arms adapted to engage one end of astick when said follower is in staple-feeding position for urging theopposite end of the stick in one direction toward said staple ejectorchannel, and said arms being adapted to be spread apart and to slideover the stick when said follower is moved in the opposite direction;and

a retractable spring ribbon atfixed at its opposite ends to said bodyand to said follower for normally urging said follower in said onedirection;

said ribbon being disposed along said open top of said housing in closeoverlying relationship with the stick when said follower is in saidstaple-feeding position, and the width of said ribbon being sufiicientto prowide at least a partial cover for said open top and therebyprevent the stick from falling out of said housing through said opentop; and

said open top of said housing being permanently open and obstructedexcept for said ribbon thereover when said follower is in saidstaple-feeding position, whereby a stick of staples can be charged tothe magazine solely through the open top of said housing when the latteris not covered by said ribbon, said follower being movable thereafter insaid opposite direction to said staple-feeding position.

2. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein said ribbon has awidth greater than the width of the staple stick.

3. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein said housing isprovided with abutment means adapted, when said follower is moved insaid opposite direction, to limit movement of the stick of staples assaid arms slide over the stick.

4. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein one end of saidspring ribbon is connected to a coiling reel mounted on said body andthe other end of said ribbon is connected to said follower, and a guideroller is mounted on said body adjacent said reel, said guide rollerbeing arranged to keep the spring ribbon at a constant small distancefrom the upper surface of the stick of staples in said housing.

5. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein on the followerthere is mounted a coiling reel having one end of the spring ribbonconnected thereto, the Opposite end of the spring ribbon being attachedto said 5 6 body closely adjacent the upper surface of the stick in2,755,473 7/1956 Spencer 227--127 said housing. 3,056,137 10/ 1962Wandel et a1 227-127 References Cited 3,174,672 3/1965 Juilts 227--120UNITED STATES PATENTS GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner1,815,066 7/1931 Maynard 227-120 5 2,059,020 10/ 1936 Pankonin 227126US. Cl. X.R.

2,627,071 2/1953 Stearns 227-120 227127

